By River Williams, Radical Moves
Radical Moves At MPTS!
On the 15th and 16th of May, the Media Production and Technology Show was held in Olympia London, hosting over 12,000 attendees, 350 speakers, 300 exhibitors and 8 theatres cram-packed with content discussions, networking opportunities and more. Sarah Thomas and River Williams represented Radical Moves at the show this year, taking part in exhibitor networking, media briefings and conferences to get an in-depth understanding of what is new in the industry.
In this blog, we’ll be going over a few of the key takeaways we noticed at the show, and what this means for the industry going forward.
Generative AI at MPTS
No blog on industry trends in 2024 would be complete without mentioning AI. Like most big trade shows this year in the broadcast and media sphere, AI was a key theme and practically a centre piece to every exhibitor stand at MPTS 2024. The topic is slowly changing though, going from ‘AI’ being used as a buzzword here there and everywhere, to a slow shift and focus on the implementation of Generative AI on the future of content workflows.
Most discussions had at MPTS presented the concept of AI as an addition to our existing workflows and products. This was a welcome change from the sense of impending doom present in many industry voices earlier this year and in 2023, and even got us a bit excited about the prospect of new and efficient workflows with AI as a helping hand, not an uncontrollable force. MPTS exhibitors were proudly showcasing new AI-integrational product offerings, and even offering an interesting insight into the future of generative AI, and what it might mean for the future of content production and streaming for the industry.
Along the same lines as AI, MPTS saw many discussions around the rise of automation in our content workflows, and what this might mean with the growing development of AI. Everywhere you looked on the show floor, exhibitors were showcasing the latest and greatest in emerging technologies, often involving AI or automation at the heart of their operations. The transition to AI-integrated workflows has been on the cards for a year or two now, but seeing it come to life at MPTS was a reminder that it’s not on its way, it’s been happening and is getting bigger than ever before.
The Buzz Around High Resolution and HDR Support
Another theme that we were seeing everywhere was high resolution, specifically 5G, 4K and even 8K support alongside the rise of High Dynamic Range (HDR) demand.
It is becoming clear that the benefits of high resolution and HDR are being felt by the industry, more so in some areas than others. The vast amount of new high resolution gaming monitors on the market at MPTS was astounding, and it was wonderful to see so many product offerings providing a high-resolution solution to the gaps present in many content workflows. There were even discussions happening surrounding 8K, and the downfalls of 4K, with some professionals speculating that 4K is not that well recognisable against the standard 1080p protocol for content quality.
Having the opportunity to see these in-depth conversations happening was very valuable, and it really shined a light on the possibilities for the future of content workflows, perhaps suggesting that 8K support is not as far away as we may think. With many of the exhibitors at MPTS already providing a possible throughput into this area of quality, we think it’s safe to say that the industry is rapidly moving towards a high bandwidth, low latency and very high-resolution future to keep up with content demand from consumers.
In these same high-resolution monitors, discussions surrounding HDR were just as prevalent. Many exhibitors, content providers and broadcasters seemed eager to prioritise a better viewing experience, and the better function of our existing content workflows. Whilst AI was a big part of the proposed solutions to this issue, it seemed that many people were suggesting how vital HDR support is for the future of content streaming. Providing benefits such as improved contrast, vivid colours, enhanced realism, better detail and better viewing experience – it’s clear that HDR and high resolution are getting set up ready to walk off into the sunset together at IBC 2024 and in the years to come.
Post Transformation: What’s Next for the Industry
One of the highlights for us at MPTS was a conference held on the first day titled ‘Post-Transformation: What Now?’ featuring BBC, Channel 4, Accedo and Techex. The discussion was centred around the current state of the broadcast industry and what lies ahead. During the conference, some fascinating points were raised about the concerns and expectations surrounding the industry’s transformation, and what we can expect.
Amongst these points was an in-depth discussion surrounding the implications of IP upgrades, and what might need to be considered going forward in the industry with our combined approach to content. Concerns were raised about the popularity of short-form platforms such as TikTok, with one contributor sharing some concerning and mind-blowing facts surrounding its growth and exposure over the last calendar year. The question was asked: how do we deal with these trends in viewership as an industry, and possibly most importantly, what does this do to the shift in consumer demand?
Summarising slightly, the conference was enlightening and ultimately revealing about the ways our industry is developing and evolving. The speakers provided potential solutions on how to strategize for the future, ensure operational effectiveness, optimisation and relevance to the audiences of today and the future. Attending the conference really reminded us that the industry is not yet post-transformation, but rather only just starting to really understand what that transformation means to us as professionals.
MPTS: In Summary
Whilst this event is certainly a different experience to the biggest trade shows such as NAB and IBC, MPTS blew it out of the park with exhibitor attendance and relevancy on big industry topics. The networking discussions and meetings we had were beyond valuable, with many industry voices speaking about real, applicable shifts happening right now such as generative AI, 5G, 8K and HDR.
New product offerings were everywhere, with a central focus on AI, automation and enhanced viewer experience as well as a push towards interoperability and integration for a streamlined approach to workflows.
It was great to see so many industry faces, get involved in interesting conversations and see the buzz of the industry present under one roof. If you would like to hear more about our experience at MPTS, or even reach out to hear about our PR and marketing support for the broadcast and media industries, contact us at hello@radicalmoves.co.uk.
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